Alaric slowly opened his eyes, the morning light softly illuminating his room at the Gilberts'. His gaze landed on Damon, seated in a worn chair nearby.

"Hey, what's going on?" Alaric questioned, still groggy from sleep.

Damon flashed a cocky grin and replied, "Just making sure the witch didn't turn you into a toad or a block of salt. Bonnie did a little spell; it's nothing to worry about. It's just something to keep the killer in you at bay."

Alaric instinctively flexed his left hand and winced as he noticed the pain from the injury.

The memory of being with Meredith flashed through his mind, and a sense of concern crept in.

"Did something happen?" Alaric probed, attempting to mask the unease in his voice.

There was a brief silence before Damon responded, "Let's just say you've got an alter ego hell-bent on killing Council members. So, we'll pack up some of your stuff and go to the loft. You know, it's like house arrest. Polite."

"Wait, where's Meredith?" Alaric pressed, his concern evident in his tone.

Damon's expression softened slightly as he assured, "She'll be fine. She's just resting, Ric."

'Did Dr. Fell forget about you, Rosalie?' Gran asked as Rosalie looked out the window.

'No, ma'am.' Rosalie turned to her politely. 'She said she has some business in the neighborhood.'

'Well, you're welcome to stay with us.'

'Thank you, Mrs. Higginbotham.'

'Do you have any questions?' I asked, hesitating her response.

She whirled around to face me, her face unreadable. 'Why didn't you tell me in the beginning?'

'Because neither of us, Elena and I, wanted to acknowledge the other. I'm not entirely sure I want to now. This isn't just my secret, Rosalie. I've known about my adoption for years, but Elena found out about hers after her parents' deaths. She is still coming to terms with it.'

'What about her father? Do you guys- Hey, when you told me you were adopted, you were being stalked by our favorite teacher.'

'Stalked by our favorite teacher?!' Repeated Gran.

'Is he Elena's father?' Rosalie asked, ignoring her.

'No, and I can't tell you who it is.'

Rosalie frowned. 'Why not?'

'That's not my secret, Rosalie.'

'Ok, but how does he tie into this?'

'Mr. Saltzman was Isobel's husband.'

'Whoa. Does he know?'

'Yes, Elena and her aunt Jenna went digging for Elena's - our mother. Elena found her first.'

'How did Mr. Saltzman find out?'

'Jenna found out his wife's name was Isobel, and she asked him about her. She showed him a photo of her, and he confirmed it.'

'How did he find out about you?'

'I guess when they found out about me, Elena told him.'

'I guess that explains why he wants to be around you.'

I shrugged. 'Maybe. Rosalie, you can't mention this to anyone!'

'Did Matt and Caroline know before me?!'

'I guess Elena told them - wait, why would you say that?'

'Matt blurted out that you and Elena were sisters.'

'What?! When?!'

'A couple of days ago, Elena didn't tell you?'

I felt my blood boil. 'No, she didn't.'

"Did Alaric Saltzman kill my father?" Caroline asked , her voice filled with disbelief and anger.

"I can't expect you to be okay with this," I sighed, feeling the weight of the situation press down on me. "But at least th ese herbs Bonnie's giving him are healing and keeping the dark side buried."

"Yeah, and that's supposed to make everything okay?" Caroline's voice trembled with emotion as she struggled to face the situation.

I grabbed Caroline's arm, turning her to face me. Tears glistened in her eyes.

"No, Caroline, it's not okay," I held her tightly, trying to offer some co mfort. "It's horrible, and I feel horrible about it, but he's a victim of something supernatural; he didn't ask for this; it just happened to him. Just like Abby, I mean, she didn't ask to become a vampire. And neither did Stefan or Tyler."

"Or me," Caroline muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Or you. None of you asked f or this, but who would I be if I just turned my back on any of you?"

Caroline moved to my side, wrapping her arm around my shoulders as we walked off, seeking solace in each other''s presence.

"Hey. What's with the cryptic secret meeting text?" Matt appeared, looking confused by the mysterious summons.

"I don't know. Stefan just s aid to meet here," I shrugged, sharing Matt's confusion.

"Where's Bonnie?" Ste fan's voice asked, joining the group.

We turned to see Stefan and Damon a pproaching us, their expressions betraying a sense of urgency.

"Um, Bonnie's mom bailed on her. Again. So, let us leave her out of this one," Caroline explained, the frustration evident in her tone.

"What are we doing here?" Matt inquired, clearly feeling left out of the loop.

"We found some more white oak," Damon said, his words carrying a weight of significance. "Long story, wait for the movie."

"Wait, white oak? You have a weapon that can kill Klaus?" I gasped, feeling a glimmer of hope amidst the darkness of our situation.

"Nope." Stefan threw down a duffel bag, the sound of it hitting the ground punctuating the moment's gravity. "We all have a weapon."

Hello?

Hello, who is this?

Is this Bella?

Who is this?

Me, Ric.

Mr. Saltzman?

Just call me Ric.

I'll just call you Alaric.

Fine.

I don't know where Elena is.

Well, that's troubling, but not why I'm texting.

Oh, why are you texting then?

Jeremy.

Is he OK?

He's fine, but with everything that's going on with me, he needs someone level-headed to look after him.

With everything that's going on with you?

Didn't Elena tell you?

Elena doesn't tell me a lot of stuff.

Well, the Gilbert ring.

The magic ring that brings you back from the dead?

Yeah. It's done something to me.

Like what?

It's made me do horrible things.

What did it make you?

Things that will change your opinion of me.

I doubt that, but go on.

I've killed people. Humans.

What?!

I killed Bill Forbes.

And the medical examiner.

I don't know when it happens, but I know I can't hurt Jeremy or let my evil side hurt him.

Why would you or your evil side do this? Why would you kill them?

Because they're vampire sympathizers, I recently stabbed a doctor who was using vampire blood to heal people.

Did you hurt Elena?

No.

Caroline cautiously observed her history teacher, Alaric Saltzman, as he sat in the library of the Salvatore Boarding House. She hesitated for a moment before approaching him.

"Hey," she said, trying to start a conversation. "I heard about your encounter with Buffy the Vampire."

Alaric s ighed, "Yeah, I'll survive. What brings you here?"

"Just checking up on y ou," Caroline replied. "In c ase you're not yourself."

"I'm me," he affirmed.

"Well, I guess even if you weren't yourself, you'd still say that," she mused, handing him a bottle of herbs. "Elena said you have to drink this. I hope it tastes better than it smells."

"It doesn't," Alaric grimaced as he swallowed the medicine. "That's disgusting."

"It's either that or harming people," Caroline explained. "Elena told me everything."

He averted his gaze, struggl ing to meet her eyes, while Caroline took a seat.

"Caroline," he finally looked at her. "I am so sorry. I don' t even know what else I co uld say."

"When I first tu rned into a vampire, I killed someone," Caroline confessed. " A stranger. I just...killed him. And what's worse is I liked it. I have blood on my hands, too; we all do."

"Yeah, but the blood on my hands is your father's," Alaric acknowledged.

"Yes, it is," Caroline acknowledged. "And maybe the man I k illed was someone's father, too." She turned away. "All I know is I'm no better than you. So, I'm going to take a page from the Elena Gilbert handbook and choose to believe that you can be saved. Okay?"

"Okay," Alaric responded, visibly moved by her words.

'So, what's going on?' Rosalie asked as we walked towards the school.

'What do you mean?'

'The Salvatore brothers arrive, and people start dropping like flies? That's no coincidence.'

I stopped and turned to her. 'Rosalie-'

'Child,' called an accented voice.

We looked around. 'Did you hear that?' she asked.

'Yeah, I did.'

'Isabella.' It came from the school.

'Where is everyone?' Rosalie flared.

'I think we're late.'

'And I think we've just witnessed the rapture,' she said as she turned to me. 'Damn, we're going to hell.'

We headed towards our class, Mr. Saltzman.

The class was empty; only Mr. Saltzman and some woman were there.

'Where is everyone?' Rosalie asked.

'Who's this?'

'Rebekah!' I cried as I grabbed Rosalie.

Alaric motioned the woman. 'No, this is Esther.'

I scrutinized her appearance and realized that he was indeed correct. Standing tall and slender, she exuded a striking beauty that belied her mature age bracket, likely between 45 and 49 years. Her lustrous, natural blond locks gracefully cascaded down, complementing her warm brown eyes and delicate facial features. It was evident that Rebekah had

inherited her mother's fair complexion, blonde hair, and distinctive features, most notably Elijah's captivating eyes.

Esther...

I've heard that name before...

She looks like Rebekah and has eyes like Elijah...

She was their mother.

'Isabella,' Alaric and the woman turned to me, 'Rosalie, could you give-'

'No,' Esther turned to me, 'if having her friend makes her-'

'No, she's not a part of this!'

'But it's only a matter of time before my children or the Salvatore brothers bring her into this.' She turned to us. 'I am Esther-'

'Klaus' mother.'

'Who's Klaus?' Rosalie asked. 'What's going on?'

'Klaus is my son, and if your friend doesn't help me, he will destroy everything you hold dear.'

'What the hell is she on about?' Rosalie flared.

'She found a to kill them, Bella.' Alaric said. 'We can kill the original vampires.'